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It is Wednesday night in January and the Taproom in Taos Ski Valley is packed. No more than 15 feet wide, skiers stream in and out, sharing a beer after a day on the mountain or filling their growlers before heading home. Customers ask co-founders Peter Kolshorn and Gary Feuerman for recommendations amid the hustle and bustle. An offshoot of Taos Mesa Brewing, the new digs are only a few weeks old but already have the quirky vibe that the flagship brewery is famous for.

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains form a remarkable backdrop for the brewery, whose environmental design was envisioned by Kolshorn. The builder learned sustainable building practices from Michael Reynolds, the architect behind Earthship, an off-the-grid housing provider.

“I injected my design ideas into the very linear, boring quonset,” says Kolshorn. “We ended up with the great east-facing windows that capture the mountains.”

Taos Mesa Brewery's iconic structure. Photo credit: Alexandra Talty.

The building receives between 85% and 90% of its heating from the sun thanks to Kolshorn's design. Carft beer company Sierra Nevada is also one of Kolshorn's inspirations as the company is almost entirely carbon neutral.

“We should be off-the-grid in 5 years,” says Feuerman. “We are already set up for that, but we ran into capital issues with some of the projects.”

Salvaged materials played a large part in construction, from a concrete bar filled with objects like metal gear wheels and spoons to a dance floor that was built using old tires. When a Borders Books closed in Santa Fe, the founders paid $200 dollars for almost all the shelving in the store, repurposing the wooden and metal shelves to hold LED lights and help with acoustics. Acknowledging that not all of their salvaging projects have been a success, Irion recalls the enjoyment of the process.

“To give our concrete floor intrigue we threw gallons of crushed glass into the slab as we were floating it,” says Irion. After spending days grinding it down, they were left with their “poor mans terrazzo” that covers the foyer, bathroom and bar floor.